Notes 39-43 - Brother Dong's Criticism of the Apostles
See also note 38.
39Brother Dong Claims the Ministry of the Twelve Apostles Was "Traditional" and the Ministry of Paul Was "Too Judicial"
Dong Yu Lan, Conference in Newton, Massachusetts, October 28, 2006, free fellowship:
The twelve apostles eventually remained in the traditional line of the ministry. They could not accept the word spoken directly by God to them because they were living in their tradition. Because of that they in themselves were unable to carry out God's purpose, and God then had to raise up Paul.
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Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Growth in Life for the Kingdom, Week 5, Tuesday:
Now the Lord has opened John's latter ministry to us. What does this prove? It proves that the Lord is coming! He is coming soon because this latter ministry of John has been revealed. John had a turn from the traditional ministry and from the judicial ministry to the organic ministry! We already have said that the traditional ministry is the ministry of the twelve apostles. The legal ministry, the judicial ministry, is Paul's ministry. Why do we say that Paul's ministry was in the judicial realm? Where did Paul receive the vision, the unspeakable words? Paul heard them in the third heavens. He heard the unspeakable words directly from the triune God. So Paul wrote everything he heard in his fourteen epistles. His ministry is a written ministry in the fourteen epistles. All those things are written in a legal way. If you don't practice those things, they become the letter. In Second Corinthians 3:6, Paul says that the ministry of the new covenant is not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. If we don't practice all these words written by Paul in the spirit, these letters will kill! Praise the Lord that we have seen that John's latter ministry was the last turn from the judicial ministry to the organic ministry.
Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 3, 2007, Message 4:
First Corinthians 14:37 says, "If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him fully know the things which I write to you, that they are the commandment of the Lord." I feel that Paul is too judicial, too doctrinal.
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Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Growth in Life for the Kingdom, Week 1, Saturday:
In the two imprisonments of Paul in Rome, in those four years, Paul wrote eight of the most important epistles. But no one practiced the words Paul wrote. Even though he was in prison, the churches would receive his epistles. Those letters Paul wrote were in the judicial realm, so no one paid attention to those words and no one practiced them.
Dong Yu Lan, Conference in Lima, Peru, January 13, 2008, Message 2:
Through the help of the latter ministry of John, we have been transferred out of the judicial realm into the organic realm. Judicial means legality and regulation, written out one by one; it concerns whether something is done in a proper way. So we may check to see if something is right judicially or legally. This is what Paul did in leading the churches. He desired all the saved ones to come to the knowledge of the truth. He also urged Timothy to proclaim the truth to those who would likewise proclaim the truth. Isn't all this in the judicial age? But God gave the truth to us with the view that we would practice it. Paul should also know that God gave us the Spirit so that we would practice the truth. Unfortunately, in his third journey, Paul himself was not in the Spirit, so he was unable to promote practicing the truth in the church life. As a result, the truth was not carried out.
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Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Growth in Life for the Kingdom, Week 1, Friday:
Dear brothers and sisters, Paul's ministry remained in the judicial realm.
Dong Yu Lan, Conference in London, Canada, October 13, 2007, Message 2:
So Paul's ministry, although his ministry was a ministry of recovery, his ministry remained in a judicial realm, was taken in letters, so it became somewhat judicial. But God's intention is that all these words, written words, these words should be practiced by us. Paul was unable to bring the saints to practice these words. So in this sense, his ministry was a failure.
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Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: The Organic Ministry of John, Week 5, Monday:
When John was with the other apostles, his ministry was still suffering under the traditional influence, but after many years of experiences with the Lord, of revelations and exile, his ministry became one of Spirit and life. Paul wrote and taught many truths, but due to the lack of cooperation from the churches to practice these truths, we can say that Paul's ministry was a failure. Then, the apostle John continued the ministry in a new and organic way.
Brother Dong's co-workers claim that when he called Paul's ministry "judicial" he was referring to the way in which that ministry was received by the saints. In other words, they claim they meant that he ministered properly but that his listeners received his teaching as doctrines, rules, and legalities. Occasionally this appears to be his meaning. However, as the above quotes show, there are also times when he states that Paul's ministry and writing were doctrinal, legal, and not in the Spirit. Brother Dong's teaching that Paul's "judicial" ministry (as well as the rest of the New Testament) must be received through the "organic" ministry of John is basically a script to support the thought that one must receive the ministry of Brother Nee and Brother Lee through the "organic" ministry of Dong Yu Lan (see notes 44-46, 49-50).
Other Criticisms of Paul
Brother Dong criticizes Paul and his ministry in other ways that undermine the saints' appreciation of the central place of his writings in the New Testament revelation and of the pattern set forth by the Lord in Paul for us to follow (Phil. 3:17; 2 Thes. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:16; 2 Tim. 3:10).
Claiming That Paul Led the Saints into the Soul, Studying and Arguing about the Truth and Practicing the "Pentecostal" Things
Brother Dong says that Paul himself was not in the Spirit on his third journey, so he was unable to lead the saints into practicing his ministry, causing his ministry to become a failure. Brother Dong also claims that Paul led the saints into the soul where they studied and argued about the truth. Brother Dong further states that Paul placed too much emphasis on the Spirit of power and, as a result, led the saints into the "Pentecostal" manifestations of the Spirit of power.
Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 7, 2008, Message 4:
But when Paul was ministering, the church in Ephesus fully fell into the soul. Of course, Paul was partly responsible for that. When he was leading in the church in Ephesus, he first asked them to receive the baptism of the Spirit, because by that time the church in Ephesus had only received the baptism of John the Baptist, practiced by Apollos, for he went there first. Paul said, "This is not right, because John the Baptist himself said that one would come after him and baptize you in the Spirit." We do not know why, but when Paul was in the church in Ephesus, the Spirit that he had seems to be the Spirit of power, the Pentecostal Spirit, by which he healed the sick, cast out demons; when people touched his garment they were healed. All of these were signs and wonders. On the other hand, Paul kept arguing with others, with Jews, for two years. First for three months, and then for two years. Arguing is something of the mind, of the soul....
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Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 7, 2008, Message 4:
I say, Paul was always in the spirit, but why did he not bring the saints in Ephesus into the spirit in his third journey? Later the church in Ephesus completely fell into their soul. It is only in the soul that they would argue with others. The Pentecostal Spirit surely is the Spirit of power and something of the soul. Therefore, at that time, the church in Ephesus fell fully into the soul. Although later Paul told Timothy to remain there so that they would not fall into the soul, he did not succeed.
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Dong Yu Lan, Message given in Goiania, Brazil, March 13, 2009:
In his third journey, Paul no longer walked according to the leading of the Holy Spirit; rather, he made his own decisions. So, in the second journey, when he came to Troas next to the Aegean Sea, he did not know what to do...
In any case, on his third journey he went to Ephesus. Paul was always one who initiated his work through the calling on the name of the Lord. But when he arrived in Ephesus, it seemed that the way of Paul's work changed; there was a big change. He introduced the church in Ephesus, the saints in Ephesus, to the outward baptism of the Spirit. He brought the Pentecost matters to Ephesus. But there you do not see that he brought the saints to call on the name of the Lord...
On his first journeys he led the churches to call on the name of the Lord to be saved, but we do not see this happen on the third journey of Paul. Instead, he begins to demonstrate the Spirit of power—healings, casting out demons, performing wonders—things that he had [not] practiced in the past. And before he also rebuked strongly those who did that. But in his third journey he himself begins to practice these things.
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Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, February 23, 2007, Message 13:
When Paul first went to Ephesus, of course, he helped them get into their spirit. But he also made a mistake: he was leading them in the Spirit of power, such as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, healing, and casting out demons. He also studied the doctrines and sometimes argued with others for two years in one place and three months in another. As a result, the church in Ephesus was like both the Pentecostals and the Fundamentalists.
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Dong Yu Lan, Conference in Lima, Peru, January 13, 2008, Message 2:
So we may check to see if something is right judicially or legally. This is what Paul did in leading the churches. He desired all the saved ones to come to the knowledge of the truth. He also urged Timothy to proclaim the truth to those who would likewise proclaim the truth. Isn't all this in the judicial age? But God gave the truth to us with the view that we would practice it. Paul should also know that God gave us the spirit so that we would practice the truth. Unfortunately, in his third journey, Paul himself was not in the spirit, so he was unable to promote practicing the truth in the church life. As a result, the truth was not carried out.
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Dong Yu Lan, Message given in Goiania, Brazil, March 13, 2009:
Another thing: Examining, analyzing, persuading with truths, with doctrines. At least two years and three months he [Paul] discoursed and persuaded people with doctrine. It is not I who am saying this. Go and look in the book of the Acts of the Apostles chapter 19. Later, he was frustrated, disappointed with the church in Ephesus, because the saints in the church in Ephesus were persons in their minds...
But Paul in First Timothy 2, what does he say? He says, "Our Savior God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth" [1 Tim. 2:4]—to know the truth, to know the truth. But to know the truth is very far away from practicing the truth.
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Dong Yu Lan, Conference in Bariloche, Argentina, May 3, 2009, Message 2:
Then he [Paul] embarked on the second journey. The center of work among the Gentile churches was Antioch, so he went out from Antioch for both the first and second journeys. In the third journey, he passed through Galatia, the churches in Asia, and arrived in Ephesus. In the previous two journeys, he already brought people into the spirit. But this time, strangely, he did not do that. Instead, he baptized the people of the church in Ephesus with the baptism of the Spirit. He baptized them with the Pentecostal Spirit, the outpoured Spirit. We know that Paul used to oppose these things, but now he was practicing the Pentecostal things such as [the baptism of] the Spirit and casting out demons. Paul brought the church in Ephesus into such a condition. On the other hand, he entered into a Jewish synagogue to debate with them for three months. Then, because those Jews did not receive it, he went to another school to study the doctrines. He debated with them for two years. Paul changed. Dear brothers and sisters, we should not do this.
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Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Practicing the Book of Acts, Week 23, Thursday:
On Paul's third ministry journey he experienced a certain failure. Apparently, by practicing things such as healings and casting out demons, he placed more emphasis on the outward putting on of power than he did on the Spirit within.
Ezra Ma, Special Meeting for Responsible Brothers, Estância Árvore da Vida, July 19, 2006:
We are no longer like Paul in his first and second journey. We have become the Paul of the third journey. We make our plans, we know what to do. We are no longer desperate, we do not call on the name of the Lord that much.
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Criticizing Paul and Vindicating Apollos and Barnabas
Since 1985 Brother Dong has also been critical of Paul in his interpretation of events regarding Apollos and Barnabas in a way that contradicts Brother Lee's clear speaking on these points.
Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Practicing the Book of 1 Corinthians, Week 19, Thursday:
Paul insisted that Apollos go to Corinth again, but Apollos did not want to (1 Cor. 16:12). Possibly he refused to go again because his first visit caused a division among them. Since Apollos was a spiritual man, he did not want to take advantage of the situation in order to boast in himself. We see that Apollos was spiritual and did not want to return to Corinth even at Paul's insistence.
Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Practicing the Book of 2 Corinthians, Week 15, Friday:
However, when Paul began to serve the Lord, his heart was not so broad. We can see this in the matter involving John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Mark joined Paul and Barnabas when they were sent on their first ministerial journey but left them because he could not bear the sufferings. There was much suffering in the work of the spread by the apostles. When they were going to visit the churches again on their second journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them. This was not necessarily because he was his relative. It may have been that he really wanted to help and perfect him. In spite of the fact that Mark had made a mistake earlier, not being able to bear sufferings, it would have been good to give him another opportunity. However, since Paul's heart was not so broad in those days, he didn't approve of Mark going with them.
Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Practicing the Books of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Week 6, Monday:
When Paul and Barnabas were embarking on their second ministerial journey, there was a sharp contention between them because of John Mark, a young cousin of Barnabas who had accompanied them on their first ministerial journey but had abandoned them. Barnabas wanted to take him again, but Paul did not want to (Acts 15:37-38).
Who was right in this situation, Paul or Barnabas? Barnabas may have thought that even though Mark had failed in the past, he was still young and needed to be perfected. However, Paul did not agree. It is difficult to say if it was Paul or Barnabas who was right, because both had their reasons. If Barnabas had the intention of perfecting a young one who had failed in the past, but who now wanted to pursue, then he was right. Nevertheless, if he insisted on taking him because he was his cousin, his family, then he was wrong. From Paul's point of view, he may have wanted to perfect Mark on his first journey, but he was not able to endure the difficulties and withdrew. Maybe Paul considered that there was no way of perfecting him. The fact remains that later on Mark became useful to Paul in his ministry (Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11; Philem 24). This teaches us that we must never give up on perfecting a brother.
Associating Paul's Ministry with Diotrophes
Pedro Dong, Conference in Boston, May 26, 2007, Message 4:
There was, perhaps, a Diotrephes, maybe defending Paul's ministry. Paul is gone, but we continue to study the fourteen epistles of Paul. We are for Paul's ministry. You've come here and changed everything. Now you talk to us about the Spirit, and you are taking us to become crazy and drunk in Spirit, Paul spoke. But our practice is not that; nowadays, that belongs to the past. But, brothers, John's organic ministry is able to go through all that. Nobody will stop this ministry of John.
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Pedro Dong's association of Diotrophes with Paul's ministry is a thinly veiled reference to the burden of the co-workers in the Lord's recovery to continue in the same line as the ministry of Brother Witness Lee.
40By "Judicial" Brother Dong Means "Doctrinal," "Legal," and "in Letters"
Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Growth in Life for the Kingdom, Week 5, Tuesday:
The legal ministry, the judicial ministry is Paul's ministry. Why do we say that Paul's ministry was in the judicial realm? Where did Paul receive the vision, the unspeakable words? Paul heard them in the third heavens. He heard the unspeakable words directly from the triune God. So Paul wrote everything he heard in his fourteen epistles. His ministry is a written ministry in the fourteen epistles. All those things are written in a legal way.
Dong Yu Lan, Conference in Lima, Peru, January 13, 2008, Message 2:
Judicial means legality and regulation, written out one by one; it concerns whether something is done in a proper way. So we may check to see if something is right judicially or legally. This is what Paul did in leading the churches. He desired all the saved ones to come to the knowledge of the truth. He also urged Timothy to proclaim the truth to those who would likewise proclaim the truth. Isn't all this in the judicial age?
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Ezra Ma, Conference in Bauru, Brazil, December 8, 2007:
When we say, "Oh, brother, you are too judicial," what are we trying to say? If you look in the dictionary, the word judicial is the same as judiciary. It is related to judgment, it is related to judging, and it is related to justice. So when you start becoming the judge of others, when you judge others, when you start judging others or charging people, you are being judicial, legal. When you say, "Brothers, everybody must preach the gospel," this is to charge people and this is legality.
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41Brother Dong Claims That Paul's "Judicial" Ministry Brought People into the Mind to Argue over the Truth
Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 1, 2007, Message 1:
God was not content with the judicial ministry of Paul, because men are easily distracted into the mind. And that affords Satan an opportunity to work in men. Recently certain ones came to South America to cause trouble; they were working to trick people into the mind other than calling on the Lord... Because of the lack of practice, God forsook the ministry of Paul.
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Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 7, 2007, Message 11:
Paul remained in Ephesus for three years. The Ephesians liked to argue; even Paul was carried away to argue with them. Later he realized that arguing does nothing but only brings men into their mind.
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See also notes 39, 40, and 42.
42Brother Dong Claims That Paul Lost His Commission and His Ministry Was Terminated by God
Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 7, 2007, Message 11:
What God commissioned him [Paul] with was His New Testament economy, but he wrote it down in his epistles in a judicial way and sent it to the churches. He failed to figure out a way to practice it in the church. Therefore, he lost his commission from God, and God let him go. Later he was killed by the Roman prince, by the Roman army. We can say that his judicial ministry was terminated right then.
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43Brother Dong Claims That God Rejected the "Traditional" Ministry of Peter and the "Judicial" Ministry of Paul
Dong Yu Lan, International Conference at Estância Árvore da Vida, September 8, 2007, Message 13:
This is why in the 70 A.D., the Lord allowed Roman Emperor Titus to eliminate the traditional ministry and the judicial ministry. Peter, the leading one in the traditional ministry, was killed. Paul, the leading one in the judicial ministry, was also killed. John was not killed, because although he was also one of the leading ones in the traditional ministry, he only followed Peter. According to the Roman law, Peter was the principal, and John was only an "accomplice." Therefore, Peter was killed, but John's life was spared and was put in prison. All this was arranged by God so that John might be reminded of all of the Lord's speaking to them.
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Dong Yu Lan, Conference at Imperatriz, June 9, 2007, Message 1:
Even in the judicial realm, Paul was chosen by the Lord to write and to practice the fourteen epistles. He wrote all the truths. Even in the judicial aspect of the truth, Paul received the commission from the Lord to write the 14 epistles and to practice them. But this was not possible in his lifetime. Maybe he did not promote that; we cannot say. Maybe he paid too much attention to the judicial side of the truth. But God did not accept that, and then in the year 70 A.D. God put aside the traditional ministry and God terminated the judicial ministry. Then God had an interval of 20 years and God raised up John again, his character was completely transformed. Now he was someone that was completely in the Spirit.
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Dong Yu Lan, Daily Food: Growth in Life for the Kingdom, Week 1, Saturday:
Why did God want to rescue Paul? It was because his ministry, although in the judicial realm, was not totally fulfilled yet. All those words he had received from the third heaven were not fully recorded. God still wanted to use him, so God kept him. In the two imprisonments of Paul in Rome, in those four years, Paul wrote eight of the most important epistles. But no one practiced the words Paul wrote. Even though he was in prison, the churches would receive his epistles. Those letters Paul wrote were in the judicial realm, so no one paid attention to those words and no one practiced them.
God was not pleased with the traditional ministry. He was not pleased with the judicial ministry either. So God allowed the Roman army under the general Titus in approximately 70 A.D., to come and destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Before destroying all Jerusalem, they killed all the leaders among the twelve apostles. James was martyred, Peter was martyred, and Paul, the leading one in the judicial ministry, was also martyred. God did not want men to remain in the traditional realm nor in the judicial realm. God does not want anything traditional or anything judicial.
But God left one of the apostles, John. For twenty years he himself was in the beginning in the traditional ministry. In Paul's time he was also in the judicial sphere, but he was never against Paul's ministry. Not like the church in Jerusalem today. The church in Jerusalem today wants to tear down everything the Spirit does. Paul's ministry was kept by the Lord's mercy. Yes, he was martyred, but John was there. John was not against his words. Later John, in his latter ministry, came to practice Paul's words.
In a message given in Colombia in May 2007, Salomon Ma, one of Brother Dong's close co-workers, even went so far as to say that Peter lost his birthright:
Paul was raised up in order to carry on what God had given to Peter yet Peter rejected. [Peter's] traditions caused him to lose his birthright.
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See also note 42.
